Source: ACI NA Airports Council International – North America (ACI-NA), the trade association representing commercial service airports in the United States and Canada, today released the following statement from President and CEO Kevin M. Burke in support of the bipartisan infrastructure package that just passed the Senate. The package includes $25 billion for American airports and air traffic towers – with $20 billion allocated for U.S. airports – as the industry recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic and continues to invest in measures to limit the spread of the virus. “Airports across the United States are grateful to senators from both parties for supporting an infrastructure bill that makes a much-needed down payment to upgrade their aging facilities,” Burke said. “Chronically [...]

Source: US DOT U.S. airlines employed 709,678 workers in June 2021, 48 more than in May 2021 (709,630) and 39,349 fewer than in March 2020 (749,027).   The June industry numbers consist of 599,050 full-time and 110,628 part-time workers.   From the onset of the pandemic in March 2020 through June 2021, the largest passenger airlines dropped 55,920 employees: United Airlines, -22,467; Delta Air Lines, -21,647; and American Airlines, -10,368. During that time, major cargo airlines added 22,594 employees with Federal Express adding 23,337.   Regulations require airlines to report employment numbers to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics for employees who worked or received pay for any part of the pay period(s) ending nearest the 15th day of the month. [...]

Source: ICAO As the implementation of the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) continues, a new data and analysis agreement between ICAO and Forest Trends’ Ecosystem Marketplace (EM) will enhance States’ and stakeholders’ understanding of the development of carbon markets. Through ICAO, States have agreed to CORSIA, which is the first global market-based measure for any sector. Complementing a broader package of aviation CO2 reduction measures, such as technological innovations, operational improvements and sustainable fuels, it contributes to the achievement of States’ aspirational goal of carbon neutral growth from 2020 by requiring the purchase of high-quality emission units. A total of eight programmes have so far been recognized by the ICAO Council as eligible, under the stringent [...]

Source: IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released the IATA World Air Transport Statistics (WATS) publication with performance figures for 2020 demonstrating the devastating effects on global air transport during that year of the COVID-19 crisis: 1.8 billion passengers flew in 2020, a decrease of 60.2% compared to the 4.5 billion who flew in 2019 Industry-wide air travel demand (measured in revenue passenger-kilometers, or RPKs) dropped by 65.9% year-on-year International passenger demand (RPKs) decreased by 75.6% compared to the year prior Domestic air passenger demand (RPKs) dropped by 48.8% compared to 2019 Air connectivity declined by more than half in 2020 with the number of routes connecting airports falling dramatically at the outset of the crisis and was down more than [...]

Source: ACI Airports Council International (ACI) World has today published updated guidance for airports to aid in their recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on their operations. As the industry prepares to sustain a long-term recovery, the third edition of Airport Operations Business Restart and Recovery has been retitled to Airport Operations and COVID-19: Business Recovery. ACI has not only updated its guidance on the practical and efficient health and operational measures that can be introduced to support safe travel, but has also expanded the guidance to include information on health passes and vaccinations, as well as risk management when returning to operations, with a particular focus on human factors during recovery. “Over the last 15 months, ACI has [...]

Source: ICAO Juan Carlos Salazar of Colombia begins mandate as ICAO Secretary General Montréal, 1 August 2021 - Mr. Juan Carlos Salazar of Colombia officially assumed the office of ICAO Secretary General today, succeeding Dr. Fang Liu of China. He assumes this role as CEO of the UN’s specialized agency for civil aviation as the international flight network continues to assure the efficient global movement of food, vaccines, e-commerce, and other essential supplies and personnel, despite the air transport industry still being severely confronted by COVID-19, greatly diminished routes, and slowly rebounding international air travel and tourism. “It is a great honour to be assuming this role at this time, and to have the opportunity to help governments and ICAO play an [...]

Source: ALPA Starting August 12, the FAA will implement the second phase of the South Central Florida metroplex airspace and procedures redesign, which optimizes airspace and modifies 76 procedures including 38 standard instrument departures (SIDs) and 31 standard terminal arrivals (STARs). The redesign improves traffic flow for Orlando International Airport (MCO), Tampa International (TPA), Palm Beach International (PBI), Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International (FLL), and Miami International (MIA) as well as air traffic control facilities (ATC) that manage airspace servicing the southeast United States, Caribbean, and Atlantic Oceanic regions. The FAA has invited ALPA Air Safety Organization representatives to monitor the implementation process, systematically evaluating the Metroplex design for four days. During this period, ATC facilities may use traffic management initiatives (TMI), [...]